Shelf life of snow crab clusters (Chionoecetes opilio) stored at 0 and 4 °C

Abstract

Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) presents a commercial and economical important product with attractive sensory attributes. Today, snow crab is captured in the North Pacific, Arctic and Northwest Atlantic and it is mainly exported to the US, Canada, Japan, South-Korea and Europe as live, cooked and refrigerated or frozen. The aim of this work was to estimate shelf life of leg meat in cooked and raw snow crab clusters (one claw plus 4 legs) using sensory, microbial and chemical analysis when stored at 4 and 0 °C. The results revealed a shelf life of 10 and 14 days for cooked clusters stored at 4 and 0 °C, respectively. Corresponding maximum levels of TVC and pseudomonads at 4 °C were log 5.5 and 3.2 CFU/g, respectively, while complementary levels at 0 °C were log 4.9 and 4.2 CFU/g. Shelf life of raw clusters stored at 0 °C was 6 days. This shelf life corresponds to maximum levels of TVC and pseudomonads of approximately log 2.5 CFU/g showing that pseudomonads is the dominant microflora. For cooked clusters, sensory and microbial analyses were the best shelf life indicators, while sensory analysis was the best shelf life indicator in case of raw clusters.